Product Description
Caves and other subterranean habitats with their often strange (even bizarre) inhabitants have long been objects of fascination, curiosity, and debate. The question of how such organisms have evolved, and the relative roles of natural selection and genetic drift, has engaged subterranean biologists for decades. Indeed, these studies continue to inform the more general question of adaptation and evolution. However, interest in subterranean biology is not limited to questions of evolutionary biology. Both the distribution and the apparent ancient age of many subterranean species continue to be of significant interest to biogeographers. Subterranean ecosystems generally exhibit little or no primary productivity and, as "extreme" ecosystems, provide general insights into ecosystem function. Furthermore, the simplicity of subterranean communities relative to most surface-dwelling communities makes them useful model systems for the study of species interactions such as competition and predation, as well as more general principles of ecosystem function. The rarity of many cave species makes them of special interest in conservation biology.

The Biology of Caves and other Subterranean Habitats offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave ecology. While there is an emphasis on the organisms that dominate this unique environment, conservation and management aspects are also considered. The book includes a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats; it also provides a clear explanation of specialized terms used by speleologists. This accessible text will appeal to researchers new to the field and to the many professional ecologists and conservation practitioners requiring a concise but authoritative overview. Its engaging style will also make it suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in cave and subterranean biology.

Each of the books in the Oxford Biology of Habitats Series introduces a different habitat, and gives an integrated overview of the design, physiology, ecology, and behaviour of the organisms found there. The practical aspects of working within each habitat, the sorts of studies that are possible, and habitat biodiversity and conservation status are all explored. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Biospeleology
While there has been no lack of monographs on cave geology in recent years, the situation in cave biology has been different. If someone wanted to borrow a book on cave biology, I'd have most likely lent the curiously named 1992 "Natural History of Biospeleology," a 675-page collection of papers published by the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid. Culver and Pipan's new book is a semi-technical introduction to underground life. It covers not only cave life in the usual sense but also fauna found in similar environments, such as stream-bed gravels or the epikarst, the pitted and furrowed limestone beneath the soil. It includes, of course, a summary of the main groups of subterranean species, from microbes, through the twenty-one orders of invertebrates with more than fifty troglobitic species, to vertebrates such as bats, salamanders, and fish. In addition, there are nice chapters on energy sources, communities, and other ecological topics, as well as discussions of the evolution of troglomorphic traits such as blindness. Most people should be able to read and profit from it, but occasionally an unexplained word like "pleiotropy" will send them to the glossary. One author is American and the other is at a karst research institute in Slovenia, so both Europe and North America are especially well covered, and the book is, of course, up to date, with the latest trends in research covered.

Considering the pretensions of the publisher, the proofreading is poor, but the glitches, such as where someone typed but for by, are obvious and don't interfere with understanding. The many illustrations and tables are clear. The book is a nice companion to the recent "Cave Geology" by Art Palmer. It would be nicer, though, if it hadn't fallen into the hands of a pricey European academic press. The geology book is hardbound and has larger pages and two hundred more of them. It was published by Cave Books, the publishing arm of the Cave Research Foundation, and costs less than two-thirds what Oxford wants for "Biology of Caves." A companion volume on biology from Cave Books has long been rumored. Until it appears, Culver and Pipan's book is it. Whether the authors succeed in getting people to use speleobiology instead of biospeleology remains to be seen.--Bill Mixon ... Read more

Product Description
Biospeleology, the study of organisms that live in caves, has a tremendous potential to inform many aspects of modern biology; yet this area of knowledge remains largely anchored in neo-Lamarckian views of the natural world in both its approaches and jargon. Written for graduate students and academic researchers, this book provides a critical examination of current knowledge and ideas on cave biology, with emphasis on evolution, ecology, and conservation. Aldemaro Romero provides a historical analysis of ideas that have influenced biospeleology, discusses evolutionary phenomena in caves, from cave colonization to phenotypic and genotypic changes, and integrates concepts and knowledge from diverse biological viewpoints. He challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the biology of caves, and highlights urgent questions that should be addressed in order to get a better and more complete understanding of caves as ecosystems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a different cave biology book
Cave biology seems to be suddenly popular with British university presses. This book was published almost simultaneously with Culver and Pipan's The Biology of Caves and other Subterranean Habitats, Oxford University Press, with the same list price of $60. Romero's book is somewhat unusual. One nice feature is the first chapter, a lengthy and interesting history of biospeleology and evolutionary theories. This is followed by an unusually wide-ranging survey of cave life, including things like the flora and fauna of sea caves, which are not (reasonably enough) generally considered the subject of biospeleology. The last major chapter is a survey of threats to caves and their ecology, pretty conventional although no doubt valuable to someone who has not already well-read on the subject.

Unfortunately, the main thrust of the middle of the book, on evolution and ecology, seems to be to attack other work in the field as too narrowly based. This becomes tiresome, as it consists largely of wantonly misinterpreting things. Nobody ever claimed that the principles that seem to govern evolution and ecology of troglobites in Kentucky and Virginia also apply to bat caves in the tropics. When authors write about the stability of the cave environment, they mean from day to day and season to season, not over evolutionary or geological time scales. Certainly cave biology looks a lot different when one considers all the life that has ever been seen in caves. That's why such life has traditionally been divided into troglobites and others, with the troglobites getting the most research attention for obvious reasons. That there are a lot of cave animals that don't show troglomorphic traits is hardly surprising when one includes everything. Romero does have a favorite cave-life-origin theory of his own, that of phenotypic plasticity, although I didn't get a clear notion of just how that relates to the genetic changes that define new species. On first reading, it smells like Lamarckism.

The color plates in Romero's book don't add much, as they are just color versions of photographs that appear in black and white elsewhere in the book.

I recommend Culver and Pipan as a more main-stream survey of biospeleology. Borrow a copy of Romero's book to read the historical chapter.--Bill Mixon ... Read more

Product Description
This histology and cell biology review package (text and disk) is aimed at medical students preparing for exams. The text includes tables, lists and charts, along with 100-150 questions and answers. The accompanying disk provides another 500 questions and answers, with all options fully explained, including incorrect ones. There is also an introductory section with tips on how to arrange study time, and how to take timed multiple-choice exams. ... Read more

Product Description

This book gathers the findings of a number of studies on North American cave paleontology. Although not intended to be all-inclusive, Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America contains contributions that range from overviews of the significance of cave fossils to reports about new localities and studies of specific vertebrate groups. These essays describe how cave remains record the evolutionary patterns of organisms and their biogeography, how they can help reconstruct past ecosystems and climatic fluctuations, how they provide an important record of the evolution of modern ecosystems, and even how some of these caves contain traces of human activity. The book's eclectic nature should appeal to students, professional and amateur paleontologists, biologists, geologists, speleologists, and cavers. The contributors are Ticul Alvarez, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Christopher J. Bell, Larry L. Coats, Jennifer Glennon, Wulf Gose, Frederick Grady, Russell Wm. Graham, Timothy H. Heaton, Carmen J. Jans-Langel, Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr., H. Gregory McDonald, Jim I. Mead, Oscar J. Polaco, Blaine W. Schubert, Holmes A. Semken, Jr., and Alisa J. Winkler.

Customer Reviews (1)

A scholarly treatise on North American Ice Age animals
If you are a passionate devotee of a subject, you hardly ever go wrong buying a book from Indiana University Press.Each effort from this publisher is copiously and carefully compiled and researched.Each has a wealth of information to offer the reader.The present text is no exception.

This book consists of eleven papers discussing various findings of preserved Ice Age fauna in North American caves.Description of the sites, ranging from Southeast Alaska, to Kentucky, to Yucatan, and to the canyonlnds of Arizona. Many sorts of creatures, including ground sloths, rodents, bears, lions, wolves, seabirds, and a host of other creatures are discussed in exacting detail, including sections on their lives, anatomy, method of preservation, appearance, et al.The work is endlessly fascinating, but must be read in small capsules.

If a drawback exists, it would lie in a lack of detailed, color photography, perhaps.Also, the reader should come armed with a considerable background in osteoanatomy and karst geology to fully understand some of the articles.The multiple bibliographies are simply outstanding.

This book is not of an introductory nature, but is geared to the advanced undergraduate or graduate student.The well-informed, but "undegreed" Ice Age enthusiast, however, will find many pearls of wisdom, and the book is also highly recommended to these people.It is a very considerable addition to the Ice Age megafauna literature. ... Read more

Product Description

The harsh environment of caves--dark, damp, sparse of food--is home to a variety of "bizarre" creatures. Biologists, for their part, often treat these delicate, colorless organisms having no eyes, or at least greatly reduced eyes, as mere oddities with little to tell us about a topic as grand as evolution. Focusing on one cave-dwelling crustacean, Gammarus minus, this book shows that, to the contrary, cave life can provide a valuable empirical model for the study of evolution, particularly adaptation.

Authors David Culver, Thomas Kane, and Daniel Fong marshal many years of extensive research into the genetics, ecology, morphology, and systematics of Gammarus minus. They explain how these biological factors have been shaped by physical constraints, such as the structure and development of caves and karst terrains, groundwater hydrology, and drainage basin patterns. Their work reveals the advantages of caves for studying natural selection: the highly simplified habitats found underground serve as a natural laboratory for the evolutionary biologist, and the distinctive morphological features of cave fauna provide a wealth of data on evolutionary history and natural selection.

A detailed evolutionary study of a single organism in a particular environment, this book advances Gammarus minus as a paradigm for cave colonization and adaptation, and as a general case study of the role of natural selection and adaptation in evolution.

Customer Reviews (2)

Evolutionary Biology - A Subterranean Study
The evolution of Gammarus minus is the subject of a remarkably interesting text published by Harvard University Press. Gammarus who? Gammarus what? Gammarus minus is a little freshwater crustacean, an isopod, that inhabits surface streams, springs, and caves.

We all have some knowledge of the theory of natural selection and evolution, and yet, I suspect that few fully recognize the complexity and difficulty in conducting research in evolutionary biology. Just how does one go about proving or disproving some aspect of evolutionary theory?

David Culver, Thomas Kane, and Daniel Fong argue that caves and cave animals are valuable empirical models for the study of evolution, particularly for the study of adaptation. The unusual morphology of cave fauna makes them "quintessential examples of evolutionary tradeoffs, a recurring theme in the study of adaptation". Also, as the cave environment is more uniform and less complex than most habitats, the analysis of environmental effects on selection is accordingly less difficult. And convergent evolution in many isolated cave systems offers a degree of repeatability that is often absent in evolutionary studies.

This text, Adaptation and Natural Selection in Caves, is remarkably well-organized and clearly written, and is accessible to the layman interested in cave biology and ecology.

However, I caution the reader. This is not a popular book on evolution for the layman. This is a detailed, well-documented, thoughtful, multidisciplinary scientific study whose primary audience is active researchers and graduate students in the biological sciences.

Evolutionary biology requires a wide background. The reader will encounter biospeleology, ecology, electrophoresis, genetics, isopod morphology, karst geology, stream hydraulics, and systematics. As advanced statistical techniques are commonly used in genetic and evolutionary studies, the reader will meet the F statistic, dendrograms, k-means clustering, rank-3 biplots, correlation matrices, and short discussions on determining the optimal splines for curve fitting.

The glossary was quite helpful with terms like adaptive radiation, allozyme, apomorphic, exaptation, electrophoresis, gene flow, homoplasy, neoteny, and vicariance.

While this text may require some persistence, it is well-worth the effort. I commend Culver, Kane, and Fong for providing an intriguing look at a complex, interdisciplinary research topic.

I recommend first reading, chapter by chapter, the concise introductions and the concluding summaries. Then return to the beginning of the book to study the chapters in more detail. The summaries are clearly written and allow the reader to quickly and easily develop an overview of each chapter.

As a final comment, Adaptation and Natural Selection in Caves would be an excellent choice for a reading assignment for undergraduates in biology, ecology, genetics, morphology, and limnology. Culver, Kane, and Fong clearly answer the question: Just how does one go about proving or disproving some aspect of evolutionary theory?

A truly unique study in the field of evolution
When it comes to evolution, almost anyone can quote Darwin's theory of natural selection...but how many people set out to prove it?In this book, the authors present the beginnings of tackling this ambitious task.Their approach is truly unique...rather than examining the diversity of all life, they have focused twenty-plus years of research on a tiny, rather obscure, cave crustacean.By drawing from numerous scienfific fields (ecology, systematics, mathematics, limnology, evolutionary theory, even molecular genetics) the authors have produced one of the most complete pictures of the effect of natural selection on a single animal.Amateur cavers might find the techical aspects of the book somewhat daunting, while expert scientists may view the study as too limitied -- yet both can appreciate the ramifications of what this study, of a little shrimp, might someday teach us about ourselves. ... Read more

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Book 1: 120 pages. Book 2: 103 pages. 17 maps are of various sizes ranging from 2-folds to 9-folds. ... Read more

Product Description
Get the most from your study time...and experience a realistic USMLE simulation! These new additions to the Rapid Review Series-highly rated in the First Aid rankings-make it easy for you to master all of the basic science material covered on the USMLET Step 1 Exam.

• Each title focuses on a particular basic science subject, providing an at-a-glance, outline-format review of all the information you need to know.
  
• A user-friendly 2-color layout, Hi-Yield Margin Notes, and Key Points make studying easy.
  
• 100 high-quality USMLE-style review questions inside each book allow you to practice for the USMLE, and include a full rationale that lets you know why every possible answer is right or wrong.
  
• Another 250 USMLE-style questions for each title are available at www.studentconsult.com-mirroring the look and feel of the actual exam, and providing detailed feedback on which areas you may need to study more.

Customer Reviews (3)

Great introductory text
The Histology text in the rapid review series is very well written, though at times a bit too basic.I have found that this is almost always a good starting point when covering new topics, but that more thorough reading elsewhere is often required.

Rapid Review Histology and Cell Biology: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access (Rapid Review)
I haven't finished but its a very good book to review the basics of histolgy.

Histology made ridiculously simple... and clear.
I like this book for my histology class because it has a great online link to a lot of questions, questions in the back of the book (USLME style) and it has amazing succinct info on histology.

If you're a med student and don't have time for your histology class, this will teach you what you need to know for exams in an organized manner. Good luck. ... Read more

Product Description
Univ. of Arkansas, Little Rock. Exam review for those medical students who have a limited amount of time to prepare for the USMLE Step 1. Features a CD with 230 clinically oriented MCQs, 60-minute timed test, and tutorial review. Text includes target topics, high-yield margin notes, practice exams, and more. Outline format. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book!
Hello I am A Physician from South America, this book is excellent for USMLE step 1, it has great images and is well organized...

good book
I am a second year medical student. I disagree with the previous poster. This book is incredibly well written and clinically relevant, especially to the USMLE. This book integrates alot of the molecular biology that is showing up frequently on the usmle. If you like the style of the rapid review series...this will fit you.

And to the previous poster, ideally we would all be using "TEXTS" to study for the usmle. You can't compare review books with major texts.

Caveat Emptor!
I am a freshman medical student at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. If there is one thing that I can do for my colleauges is to wave ared flag and tell you NOT to buy this book. Firstly, the organization isextremely poor. Secondly, some information is inaccurate and/or outdated.Finally, the material is obviously condensed from a superior text onHistology by Gartner & Hyatt. Although, G&H is more expensive, itis well worth your money. The two color illustrations are also"modified from" other texts. ... Read more

Product Description
This book summarizes our knowledge of the caves and cave research in Bulgaria. The first Bulgarian caving society was founded as early as 1929, but the first cave animals, fossils and archaeological artefacts in Bulgarian caves had been found and published even earlier, at the end of the 19th century. However, sporting speleology was established much later, since the restoration of organized caving in 1958. By that time, only some 200 caves had been known in Bulgaria, largely highly superficially. At present they outnumber 5,100, most of them being well-documented. Cave animals have been recorded from more than 700 Bulgarian caves. Bulgarian cavers have discovered and surveyed 62 caves longer than 1,000 m, as well as 52 potholes deeper than 100 m. Bulgarian caving is currently well-organized network of caving clubs, including more than 800 members. Over the past 40 years, Bulgarian cavers have organized the exploration of hundreds of caves in more than 45 countries, including independent missions to Austria, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cuba, China, Vietnam, Indonesia etc.Some of them also participated in such complex international expeditions as the British Speleological Expedition to Papua New Guinea in 1975. Numerous new animal species have been described by Bulgarian specialists from caves in different parts of the world. The Bulgarian Federation of Speleology has initiated the creation of a Balkan speleological union. One of the major achievements of Bulgarian speleology has become the compilation of the Main Card Index of Bulgarian caves. Keeping in mind all these achievements, time has come to publish both in Bulgarian and English a compendium containing, besides other things, concise descriptions of 260 of he most important and spectacular caves and potholes of Bulgaria. An outline is also given of some general subjects like Biospeleology, Speleopalaeontology, Speleoarcheology, Speleomineralogy, Geomorphology and Hydrogeology of Karst, Cave diving, Cave rescue and others. The book contains data on various aspects of research carried out by Bulgarian cavers all over the world, as well as biographical information about many Bulgarian cavers and cave scientists. The publication is richly illustrated by numerous colour pictures, graphs and maps. ... Read more

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Product Description

A decade of zooarchaeological fieldwork (1992-2001) went into Mary Stiner's pathbreaking analysis of changes in human ecology from the early Mousterian period through the end of Paleolithic cultures in the Levant. Stiner employs a comparative approach to understanding early human behavioral and environmental change, based on a detailed study of fourteen bone assemblages from Hayonim Cave and Meged Rockshelter in Israel's Galilee. Principally anthropological in outlook, Stiner's analysis also integrates chemistry, foraging and population ecology, vertebrate paleontology, and biogeography. Her research focuses first on the formation history, or taphonomy, of bone accumulations, and second on questions about the economic behaviors of early humans, including the early development of human adaptations for hunting large prey and the relative "footprint" of humans in Pleistocene ecosystems of the Levant.